Morphometric and Molecular Muscle Remodeling after Passive Stretching in Elderly Female Rats.

Objectives: To determine the effects of three sessions of a passive stretching exercise protocol on the muscles of elderly female rats.

Methods: The effects of the stretching exercises on the soleus muscle were analyzed using immunohistochemistry [tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP), the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and the gene expression levels using real-time PCR of the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), collagen type 1 (COL1), and collagen type 3 (COL3)]. Fifteen 26-month-old female Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups, namely, Stretching (SG, n=8) and Control (CG, n=7).

Acute effects of stretching exercise on the soleus muscle of female aged rats.

Unlabelled: It has been shown that stretching exercises can improve the flexibility and independence of the elderly. However, although these exercises commonly constitute training programs, the morphological adaptations induced by stretching exercises in aged skeletal muscle are still unclear.

Objective: To assess the acute effects of passive mechanical static stretching on the morphology, sarcomerogenesis and modulation of important components of the extracellular matrix of the soleus muscle of aged female rats.